Although in-person activities aren’t happening at the Baker County Library, the staff is putting together special kits and online events for youth.
CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) TIMELINE
Updated
Parents of Baker School District students will have a chance to ask Superintendent Mark Witty during a Zoom meeting Wednesday evening about plans to possibly resume in-person classes for younger students on Oct. 12. Read more
Updated
Baker County’s only outbreak of COVID-19, at Meadowbrook Place assisted living community in Baker City, has ended, according to a statement from the facility where 27 cases were reported during the summer. Read more
If Baker County residents can continue to avoid the coronavirus for the next couple of weeks, younger Baker School District students might be able to return to their classrooms by Oct. 12. Read more
More than $126,000 is on its way to Baker County to support arts and cultural organizations. Read more
Updated
The Baker County Board of Commissioners will discuss a mountain road blocked recently by a locked gate when they meet Wednesday morning, Sept. 30. Read more
Tom McLay uses the word “lucky” a couple of times but McLay, superintendent at the Powder River Correctional Facility in Baker City, gives a lot more credit to conscientious people than to good fortune for keeping COVID-19 out of the minimum-security prison. Read more
Updated
Jamie Agard hates to drive past Brooklyn Primary School because she hates to hear her son weeping. Read more
With two weeks of online classes finished in the Baker School District, families and school staff continue to face the challenges of fine-tuning the system. Read more
The Eltrym Theatre marquee hasn’t lit up for months, but that all changed on Friday, Sept. 18. Read more
Updated
Baker County’s rate of new cases of coronavirus continues to drop. Read more
Although in-person activities aren’t happening at the Baker County Library, the staff is putting together special kits and online events for youth. Read more
Updated
Baker County is having its quietest week on the COVID-19 front in more than two months. Read more
Baker City’s Coronavirus Relief Fund Committee met for the second time Wednesday and disbursed $72,765 to four applicants from the city’s share of federal pandemic aid. Read more
The Baker School District’s technology department, which has been doubled in size for the first month of school, still was kept on the run troubleshooting and helping families and teachers get equipment set up and fine-tuning systems throughout the day Tuesday as online classes began. Read more
Updated
Gissel Loza’s dining room table turned into a classroom Tuesday morning. Read more
The eight new COVID-19 cases that Baker County reported on Sunday are all residents at Meadowbrook Place assisted living community in Baker City, and none has shown symptoms, according to the Baker County Health Department. Read more
After a two-week downward trend in COVID-19 cases, Baker County reported eight new cases on Sunday, tying Aug. 14 for the highest one-day total. Read more
Updated
The rows of cars parked at Anthony Lakes Saturday afternoon were reminiscent of the scene a weekend after a fresh dumping of powder at the ski area in the Elkhorn Mountains northwest of Baker City. Read more
With the opening of online classes just three days away, Baker School District administrators are hoping the extra training staff members received prior to the Sept. 8 opening of comprehensive distance learning will help the year begin without too many hitches. Read more
The Baker County Economic Development Department hopes to distribute $200,000 in grants of up to $5,000 to local businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more
A declining rate of new COVID-19 cases in Baker County over the past two weeks has prompted Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to remove the county from the state “watch list.” Read more
Baker County had two cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and two others on Tuesday. Read more
Baker County will pay the Baker School District $300 per day from the county’s share of federal COVID-19 aid to provide child care for county employees’ children, from grades K-8, while they are taking all online classes. Read more
Baker County’s rate of new COVID-19 cases has slowed over the past week. Read more
Updated
In a year defined by disappointments, Terri Siddoway figured the annual youth livestock auction, the culminating event of the Baker County Fair, would continue 2020’s troubling trend. Read more
A committee appointed by the Baker City Council has awarded almost $67,000 in federal COVID-19 aid to several local organizations. Read more
Updated
Though Baker High School classrooms will be devoid of students when the school year starts Sept. 8, weights will be clanking in the weight room this fall. Read more
The Baker School District announced Thursday that one of its staff members has tested positive for COVID-19. Read more
Updated
Residents of Settler’s Park had five large surprise visitors Monday afternoon. Read more
Updated
State officials have listed the Aug. 21 death of a Baker County man as the county’s second fatality related to COVID-19. Read more
Baker County had a quiet weekend on the COVID-19 front, with no new cases reported on Saturday or Sunday. Read more
Kathy Olsen cringes every time another bill arrives. Read more
Updated
In the Eagle Cap Wilderness, social distancing is better measured in miles than in feet. Read more
Updated
Baker County recorded seven new cases of COVID-19 today, after reporting no new cases on either Thursday or Friday. Read more
Updated
Dozens of people lined up at Old West Federal Credit Union in Baker City on Thursday to apply for a one-time $500 relief check related to financial losses they've suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first-come, first-served system, which started Wednesday and is limited to $35 million… Read more
Coaches from all levels within the Baker School District convened for a Zoom call Aug. 12 moderated by the District’s athletic director, Buell Gonzales Jr., to discuss plans for athletics in a year with pandemic-related restrictions. Read more
Baker County reported one new case of COVID-19 on Tuesday but none on Wednesday, leaving the county’s total at 57. Read more
Oregon residents facing financial hardship from the COVID-19 crisis are eligible for $500 one-time checks in a program beginning Wednesday, Aug. 19. Read more
Editor’s Note: This is the sixth installment of the diary that Story Miller, who grew up in Richland, is writing from her home in Italy, where she has lived since 2012 with her Italian husband, Enrico Pizzetti. The couple have a 3-year-old daughter, Lamia. The five earlier installments, publ… Read more
Updated
The first Baker County resident to die from COVID-19 was a resident at Meadowbrook Place assisted living community in Baker City, the Baker County Health Department announced Monday afternoon. Read more
Editor’s Note: This is the fifth installment of the diary that Story Miller, who grew up in Richland, is writing from her home in Italy, where she has lived since 2012 with her Italian husband, Enrico Pizzetti. The couple have a 3-year-old daughter, Lamia. The four earlier installments, publ… Read more
Teachers at Baker High School will join those at Eagle Cap Innovative High School in relying on the Acellus online learning platform to help bring lessons to their students through comprehensive distance learning this fall. Read more
Updated
Baker County reported eight new COVID-19 cases on Friday, the highest one-day total during the pandemic. Read more
Updated
After being forced to close her Baker City salon for most of the spring due to state restrictions prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, Shannon Lang-Maxwell had just returned to something like a normal schedule when a co-worker brought her the troubling news on the evening of July 29. Read more
Updated
Baker County has the second-lowest per capita testing rate for COVID-19 among Oregon’s 36 counties. Read more
Although Oregon officials have loosened the requirements for some rural schools to have students return to classrooms, Baker School District students still will begin the year on Sept. 8 with all classes online. Read more
Updated
Baker County tallied three new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, after reporting two new cases on Tuesday. Read more
Updated
Oregon officials today announced new standards for schools to resume in-person classes that could make it easier for the Baker School District to welcome students back to classrooms later in the fall. Read more
Updated
Kassaundra Meng has three children starting school in less than a month, along with one computer and an overstressed internet connection. Read more
Updated
Baker County’s number of positive and presumptive cases of COVID-19 rose by two on Sunday, to a total of 40 since the pandemic started in March. Read more
The Baker School Board has agreed to start the school year Sept. 8 with online classes for all students, at least for the first nine weeks. Read more
With one new COVID-19 case reported on Friday, a total of 38 Baker County residents have either tested positive for the virus or are considered presumptive cases. Read more
Updated
The Baker School District will start the school year Sept. 8 with distance learning for all grades, according to a press release from the district today. Read more
Updated
Baker County added one case of COVID-19 today, bringing the county's total cases, since the pandemic started, to 37. Read more
For more than a century the Baker County Fair and the youth-raised livestock that go along with it have been a part of the county’s culture. Read more
Updated
Nothing says summer like smashing cars into each other, so Baker County residents should be happy to hear that the Haines Stampede Rodeo demolition derby will happen on Saturday evening. Read more
Baker County reported two cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the county’s total to 36. No one is hospitalized for treatment of the virus in the county, according to the Oregon Health Authority, and no county resident had died from the disease. A total of 991 county residents have teste… Read more
The Baker County Chamber of Commerce’s Visitors Center in Baker City will reopen Friday for the first time in four months, and resume daily operation from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Read more
Updated
Whether any Baker School District students are sitting in a classroom when the school year starts on Sept. 8, rather than sitting in front of a computer screen at home, could depend on how persuasive a new task force is. Read more
Updated
High school sports in Oregon will not kick off until 2021. Read more
Updated
The pandemic foiled a football game but it proved no match for the generosity of Baker County ranchers and farmers, and Shriners and other volunteers across Oregon. Read more
State support for easing requirements to allow in-person classes in Baker schools and other sparsely populated Eastern Oregon counties will be moot until the current uptick in COVID-19 cases ends. Read more
Two Baker County businesses each received a loan exceeding $1 million through the CARES Act that Congress passed in late March at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic. Read more
It’s official. Read more
Updated
Alicia Hills has interviewed each of the 29 Baker County residents who have tested positive for COVID-19. Read more
Updated
Baker County reported two new cases of COVID-19 in county residents Thursday. Read more
Updated
Baker County reported one new case of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the county’s total since the pandemic started to 25 cases. Read more
Updated
Superintendent Mark Witty isn’t ready just yet to change plans for reopening Baker schools, with limited in-person classes. Read more
Teacher Toni Myers is eager to get back to her Keating classroom and to be with her students she’s been missing since in-person school was suspended in March. Read more
Baker County’s COVID-19 cases continue to show up in little clusters, which is obviously better, Nancy Staten said, than big clusters. Read more
Updated
Baker County reported three new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday and one late on Friday. Saturday's total of three cases tied for July 7 for the highest single-day total since the pandemic started. Read more
The Baker County Fair is still on in Baker City the first week of August, but it’s going to be a drastically different event this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Read more
With Baker High School about 6 weeks away from starting what won’t be an ordinary school year, student-athletes will have to wait even longer to compete against rival schools. Read more
Not long ago I was hiking up a timbered slope in the Wallowas to a big field of talus I’d noticed on satellite imagery. “Ground-truthing,” you might say, something I often do when I spot an intriguing feature on an aerial photo or topo map — or just want to finally see for myself what an ecc… Read more
Updated
Baker County confirmed one new case of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the county’s total to 20. Read more
Students at Baker School District’s Summer Academy are getting an early introduction to some of the new technology that will be in use when the 2020-21 school year begins. Read more
Doris Hutton and her father, Joe Heck, had a chance to do something Tuesday morning that they’ve missed since March. Read more
Melody Huff tried to remain optimistic that not even a pandemic could stop an event that’s been a Baker County summer tradition for almost a century. Read more
Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in May invited 950 randomly selected Baker County households to participate in an OHSU-led study related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more
Updated
The Oregon Bankers Association (OBA) is encouraging consumers to empty out their piggy banks to help small businesses facing coin shortages resulting from pandemic-related shutdowns. Read more
Updated
Baker County reported one new case of COVID-19 today, bringing the county's total to 16. Read more
The moment you step into the Mind, Body and Yoga studio, a sense of calmness is in the air. It might be the mural of Mount Fuji on one of the walls or it might be the period of relaxation that awaits. Read more
Updated
Baker County reported two new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the county's total to 15. Read more
Updated
The Baker County Library District reopened its buildings today, but with limits on the number of patrons and other restrictions related to COVID-19. Read more
With Little League baseball and softball and many other sports being cancelled, and schools closed for the spring term, kids have been left without access to the normal activities and social interactions during the pandemic. Read more
Baker School District Superintendent Mark Witty is proposing to start classes Sept. 8 rather than Aug. 31, as originally planned, to give teachers and staff an extra week to prepare for changes related to the pandemic. Read more
Baker County didn’t report any new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the third straight day with no positive tests. Read more
The Baker County Fairgrounds arena in Baker City is normally a hive of activity and excitement the third weekend of July. Read more
In a normal July, Shelly Cutler, on this third Thursday of the month, would be signing papers and answering phone calls and quite possibly nurturing the sort of headache that afflicts people who have far more tasks to finish than hours to finish them. Read more
Updated
Oregon health officials on Wednesday added Baker County to a “watch list” due to recent coronavirus cases in the county, but the designation will not cause any additional restrictions. Read more
Two more Baker County residents were listed as confirmed or presumptive coronavirus cases on Saturday, bringing the county’s total cases to 12. Read more
Updated
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has announced a ban on indoor social gatherings of more than 10 people. The limit does not apply to churches or businesses, or to members of the same family. Read more
Each of the nine Baker County residents who has either tested positive for COVID-19 recently, or who is considered a presumptive case, has been very cooperative in talking with Baker County Health Department investigators. Read more
An organizer of a nondenominational service that brought more than 200 people to Geiser-Pollman Park on Sunday morning said attendees were urged to practice social distancing. Read more
HAINES — Mayor Jim Brown is sitting inside a quiet and nearly empty Haines City Hall, but he feels as if he’s stuck in the middle of the intense national debate spawned by the coronavirus pandemic. Read more
Updated
Three more Baker County residents have contracted COVID-19, county officials announced Tuesday, bringing the county’s total to 10. Read more
Updated
Five of the nine recent cases of COVID-19 in Baker County are U.S. Forest Service employees, an agency official said Wednesday afternoon. Read more
Updated
Baker County confirmed three new cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the county's total to 10. Read more
HAINES — Every year, citizens of Baker County and beyond look forward to the Haines Stampede rodeo, and every year the bulls, broncs and riders put on a show to celebrate Independence Day. Read more
Gov. Kate Brown’s edict for all Oregonians 12 and older to wear masks in public indoor spaces does not come with an order for police to enforce the requirement. Read more
Get breaking news!